


Merry DESSmas!

by SevenLol, Xesphanite



Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: Christmas was a week ago?, F/F, i have no idea what you're talking about
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 06:56:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13242915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SevenLol/pseuds/SevenLol, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xesphanite/pseuds/Xesphanite
Summary: Christmas is coming soon and Genjuuro has something up his sleeves for the Symphogear users.





	Merry DESSmas!

It was two weeks before Christmas and all the Symphogear Adaptors were bundled snuggly in their winter wear as they headed towards the bridge, their footsteps echoing through the corridors of SONG Headquarters.

“I wonder why Master is calling us.” Hibiki wondered, keeping in step with Miku who was clinging to her arm securely.

“And I wonder why I was called too.” Miku looked faintly worried as she wasn’t a combatant.

“Don’t worry, Miku! I’m sure it won’t be bad or anything!” Hibiki said cheerfully, snuggling closer to Miku. Miku gave her a small smile in return and squeezed her arm affectionately.

“Do you think it has something to do with a new mission?” Maria then asked, brows furrowed.

“I don’t think so.” Tsubasa murmured, mirroring Maria’s expression.

“You two, you’ve been spending so much time together you both are starting to look like each other.” Kanade pointed out with a teasing grin, facing the other two as she walked backward. Beside her, Serena let out an amused giggle. Tsubasa and Maria blushed, unable to retort.

“It’s not any more training is it...?” Kirika asked, sounding almost fearful as she crossed her arms, putting on a thinking pose.

“It’s almost winter vacation so I hope not.” Shirabe sighed softly, lacing her fingers together with Kirika’s.

“Who knows what the old man has in mind.” Chris huffed a little, drawing her coat closer to herself.

Even after all their speculation, they still had no clue what to expect from this meeting. However, when they arrived at their destination, the sight that greeted them was certainly not what any of them were expecting in a million years.

“You’ve all finally arrived, we’ve been waiting!” Genjuuro exclaimed jovially, a large smile on his face that was hidden by a long white beard. None of them were certainly expecting their Commander to be in full Santa costume! Complete with a long white beard, the red and white suit and a Santa hat. He was a very buff-looking Santa as the usual pudge expected from Santa is replaced by muscle.

“S-Santa!?” Kirika yelped in shock while the others were too stunned to say anything.

“What do you think? It suits me, doesn’t it?” Genjuuro’s laughter was booming as he proudly showed off his Santa suit.

“Whooaa! Master, you do look great!” Hibiki said excitedly, her eyes glimmering.

“W-what are you doing, old man?! You called us for this??” Chris snapped out of her shock, looking like she didn’t know if she should be embarrassed for Genjuuro or not.

“Partly.” Genjuuro answered with a slight nod. “You all know that it’s Christmas soon, and Elfnein had suggested something we should do for it.” He looked down to his side, and that was only when they noticed that Elfnein had been standing there all along.

“I didn’t even notice she was there…” Shirabe murmured and Kirika nodded in agreement. The sight of Santa Genjuuro had been too distracting.

“Everyone, we decided to hold a Christmas party on Christmas Eve” Elfnein announced, an excited smile on her face. “And we’ll be having a Secret Santa event! ”

“Secret Santa?” Kanade repeated curiously.

“You know how we exchange gifts on Christmas? We decided to put a twist on it! For the Secret Santa, we each get a random person who we’ll give a gift to and we all have to keep it a secret!” Elfnein explained happily.

“So we wouldn’t know who would give us a gift until it’s time to give them.” Tsubasa said.

“Yes! It would be a surprise!” Elfnein was obviously very excited for it and all of them started to catch it too.

“That does sound like fun.” Serena smiled, looking down fondly at Elfnein.

“I wonder what kind of gift I’ll get?” Miku wondered with a smile.

“I already can’t wait!” Kirika jumped up. “Surprise presents!!”

“Yeah! Let’s do it!” Hibiki agreed enthusiastically and everyone else nodded their assent.

“Great! All of us would be participating.” Genjuuro nodded in approval.

“Even you, Commander?” Tsubasa asked, a bit surprised.

“Of course! Ogawa, Elfnein and I would be joining too, to make it more interesting.” Genjuuro nodded. “It’s too bad that Fujitaka and Tomosato can’t participate, but they’ll be joining the party.”

“Even Ogawa-san?” Maria blinked in shock.

“Yes! I hope none of you mind.” Ogawa seemingly appeared out of nowhere, giving them his usual calm smile.

“The more the merrier!” Kanade exclaimed. “So how are we going to do this?”

“I’ve already made a program that has all our names entered in!” Elfnein then whipped out a phone, seemingly keying in something before quickly pocketing it again. “It would randomly pick on who we would be Secret Santas to. We’d all receive a message on our phones by now.” On cue, everyone’s phones let out alerts and they all checked them. There was a multitude of reactions on their faces as they read the names on their screens.

“Don’t forget! The party is on Christmas Eve at 7 pm sharp! Ready your gifts by then!” Genjuuro said in closing.

* * *

 

“DEESSSSS!!” Kirika was panicking loudly in her shared room with Shirabe.

“Why couldn’t I have gotten Maria or Shirabe?” Kirika moaned, looking down at the name ‘Kazanari Tsubasa’ on her phone. “What am I supposed to give Tsubasa-san?!”

Kirika proceeded to panic again, pacing inside her room again and again before she managed to tire herself out. She threw herself on the bed, frantically trying to think of a good thing to give Tsubasa. She was frantic not because she didn’t like Tsubasa or anything. It was the opposite of it in fact. Kirika and Shirabe had always been huge Zwei Wing fans, and even though they were friends, she was still very intimidated at the thought of giving a gift to Tsubasa. The problem was that she wanted to give a really good gift! What do you even give to an idol as famous as Tsubasa?? Not to mention she wasn’t a materialistic kind of person.

“What do I do DEEESSSS!?!” Kirika groaned, lying down on her back and raising her phone up to her face so she could stare at the screen again. That was when she got an idea.

“That’s it! The internet! There’s gotta be a lot of Zwei Wing forums or message boards I could look at and get ideas from!” Kirika said excitedly, practically shoving her phone in her face in her eagerness to look for ideas. It took her quite some time but a promising idea began to form in her head as she was looking at some uploads of Tsubasa’s pictures in casual, everyday circumstances.

“I’ve got it DESS!!” Kirika yelled in triumph, jumping to her feet and doing a victory dance. “I know what to give her now!!” With that shout, Kirika rushed out of the room, eager to put together her gift.

* * *

****Tsubasa looked perfectly calm while going down the street full of shops. She looked intently at each storefront before moving on, the most serious of window shoppers. Internally, however, she was having a mildly panicked monologue as she thought of the Secret Santa and who she had gotten.

“What am I going to give Serena?” Tsubasa thoughtlessly said aloud. “I’m confident enough to know Maria but I’m not as confident with her little sister…” It’s not that she wasn’t talking to Serena or anything. They got along quite well but Tsubasa was at a loss at what to get her. Serena at times was a mystery, always a gentle smile on her face. It seemed like she was content with everything and the only thing that Tsubasa was sure that Serena liked very much was pudding. She can’t very well just give Serena pudding for Christmas.

“That would perhaps work with Tachibana.” Tsubasa sighed, coming to a stop in front of the windows to a small shop that had a display of dollhouses. She wanted to give a more meaningful token than that. What would be meaningful for someone like Serena? Maria had once mentioned that they wanted to return to the place that they were born if only to visit the graves of their parents. Perhaps she should give Serena plane tickets for that? But no, Serena would surely decline such an expensive gift. For a moment, she stared at a finely crafted Victorian dollhouse. It was detailed and beautiful, even having a beautiful garden.

“What a beautiful garden…” She commented softly to herself. She looked at intensely for a moment, noting all the details she could see. “A garden…” A memory then tickled Tsubasa’s brain and her eyes widened. “That’s it!” Tsubasa said loudly, startling an old lady who was passing by behind her, making her drop the bag she was holding. Turning beet red, Tsubasa apologized profusely and gave the old lady her bag back before rushing inside the store she had been staring at.

* * *

 

Serena sat in front of her desk, idly playing with her pen while thinking of what she should do for the Secret Santa. She had a notebook open on her desk with words written in big capital letters at the top; List of Hibiki’s Potential Gifts’. Underneath it was only two listings, Miku, and rice.

Serena prided herself on being an observant individual and Hibiki was one of the easiest people to read. At least, in regards to what she loves most. Serena wanted to really make Hibiki happy with her gift, and the one thing that would make her the happiest was without a doubt Miku. Serena contemplated if she should just kidnap Miku and tie her in ribbons and give her as her gift.

“Oh wait… Miku-san mentioned she already did that before.” Serena sighed softly to herself, disappointed. If not Miku, then food is always Hibiki’s other favorite thing.

“Maybe I’ll just give her a week’s supply of rice?” She thought aloud before shaking her head. That would just make her broke since Hibiki ate so much.

“Miku-san’s already the perfect gift, but I can’t give her physically.” Serena tapped her pen repeatedly as she thought of a way to give a gift that’s related to Miku. Something that would remind Hibiki of Miku… Trying to think of something, Serena’s eyes wandered all over her room before something caught her interest at a shelf. A pink octopus plushie was looking back at her with a vacant smile on its cute face. Serena stared at it for several moments before a slow smile overtook her face.

“I know what to give her now.” Serena declared, putting her hand down to scribble in her notebook for things she would need.

* * *

 

“Ahhh, this is so hard.” Hibiki whined, resting her forehead on the table in defeat. She resisted the urge to bang her head on the table. Instead, she took deep breaths before sitting back up.

“Nooo! I can’t admit defeat! I have to think of a gift for Maria-san soon!” Hibiki exclaimed, trying to pep herself up. She just couldn’t think of any good ideas. All her ideas involved food as Maria also had an appreciation of food like Hibiki did. However, she wanted to give something that would last and not just something that would be gone after a couple of minutes.

“I wonder what else Maria-san likes.” Hibiki wondered out loud, putting her chin in her hand as she thought. “Something cute? She liked those rabbits in the Shrine we went to.” She suggested to herself before scratching her head.

“Ahhh, I wish I could ask Miku for help!” Hibiki cried in frustration, slamming her fists on the table. Her favorite cup that had her name on toppled because of the force, spilling water on the table and rolled to the edge.

“Oh no!” Hibiki yelped, standing up and snatching the cup before it could fall. She then took a good look at it, before it felt like she was struck by lightning as an idea hit her.

“I’ve got it!” Hibiki yelled in triumph, pumping her fist up.

* * *

 

Maria sighed as she discarded another magazine to her now growing pile. She was browsing these magazines for an idea on what to give Ogawa but mostly, she found suggestions for gifts for significant others. Not exactly the kind of suggestion she needed.

“Give them something they’ll appreciate.” Maria read aloud. She then shook her head. That much Maria knew but the thing is, she had no idea what kind of things Ogawa liked. He was a ninja and their manager, and that was sadly pretty much the extent she knew about him. Ogawa had always been friendly but professional. She hadn’t interacted with him outside of their jobs in SONG and on the entertainment industry.

Maria thought at first if she should just give him a useful but generic gift. Something like a new tie or a planner. However, even she had to admit that was lame and looked like she didn’t even put any thought into her gift.

“Maybe I should just ask someone who would know more about Ogawa-san.” Maria pondered. But who else could she ask? The Commander and Tsubasa were out since they were participating. Who else could she ask about Ogawa?

“Tsubasa’s papa..?” Maria thought out loud before shaking her head vehemently. “I don’t think I could…” She may get her missions from Yatsuhiro occasionally but she didn’t think she was close enough to him for a friendly chat. Who else knew Ogawa for a long time now?

“Ah! That’s it!” Maria exclaimed, whipping out her phone to call them.

* * *

 

Ogawa calmly sipped his tea as he sat peacefully in his living room. It had been another busy day at work and he was just relaxing before turning in for the night. Beside him was a beautifully wrapped present, already ready to give.

“I do hope that Elfnein would like this.” Ogawa commented, a smile on his face. He had already known almost immediately what to give Elfnein and now it sat finished, with still a lot of time left before the party.

“Well, tomorrow is another day then. I think it’s time for me to retire.” With that, Ogawa disappeared back into his room.

* * *

 

Elfnein was busy staring up at the terminal in front of her. However, instead of her usual work, her screen prominently displayed the profile of one Yukine Chris.

“...Now, if I look at all the data I gathered on Chris-san, I should be able to find the perfect gift for her.” Elfnein said in satisfaction, finishing up compiling all the data she gathered. Perhaps she was cheating a little but Elfnein really wanted to give a gift that would make Chris happy.

“Let’s see… Here is Chris-san’s purchases for the past few weeks…” Elfnein studied the information in front of her. Looking at Chris’ purchases lately would give Elfnein an idea on what she likes. Aside from basic necessities, Elfnein noticed that Chris had been buying an anime series called Uta Zukin.

“Uta Zukin..? If I recall correctly, this was the series the government funded…” Elfnein trailed off thoughtfully, opening a new window to look more at the information regarding the anime and manga series. “It seems Chris-san really likes this series. She bought all the anime DVDs and manga.”

“Then I should get her something that’s related to Uta Zukin!” Elfnein concluded, a pleased grin on her face. It was worth it checking up on Chris’ data! Even if she had to hack to get it. Now, she could get her a great gift!

“Though I’m still not sure on what I should get as a gift…” Elfnein laughed sheepishly to herself. It seemed that Chris was a big fan, as aside from buying the anime and manga, she bought several other merchandises of the show. “Chris-san already has a lot… Maybe I should give her something that can’t be bought easily?” Elfnein continued to ponder while checking out the merchandise available.

“Ah! This is it..!” Elfnein exclaimed as she saw a product at the sidebar. “I better get started right away!”

* * *

Chris stalked through the mall with a scowl on her face, muttering to herself angrily. Shoppers around her all gave her a wide berth, intimidated by her not-at-all friendly aura. “What the hell am I supposed to give the old man?!” Out of all people she could have picked, she just had to get Genjuuro. It’s not like she doesn’t have any idea on what to give him. In fact, Chris knows exactly what he’s crazy about.

“Action movies.” Chris said darkly to herself. However, there was only one problem. “He probably already has all the action movies!” Being such an action movie fan, Genjuuro had a whole cabinet full of action movies, the existence of which Hibiki had mentioned to her before.

“He probably has the damn record for most action movies belonging to a single person.” Chris grumbled. She can’t very well give him a bunch of movies if he already has all of them. “Ugh, now what do I do??”

Chris continued on her walk, desperately looking at the shops for any kind of idea. “What else would he even like? Damn it, I have no idea.” Aimlessly she wandered on until finally the display on a sports shop window caught her eye.

“Ah screw it! That’ll work since he likes training and he doesn’t have enough of it!” Chris said before going inside to take a closer look.

* * *

 

Genjuuro stood imposingly in front of his large cabinet full of action movies. This was his pride and joy, having started his collection when he was hardly even a teenager. A collection that at first, he hid from his father. But now, it was out in the open, and now, he could share it with others.

Genjuuro had an extremely serious look on his face, the look he often sported when there was a crisis to be solved by SONG. He stood there motionless for a few minutes, thinking deeply about his choice. His eyes roamed over every title, knowing each one’s story intimately. He had watched all of these, committed many of them to memory. He must find the perfect one, for that would be his gift.

“Ah!” Genjuuro finally found it, taking two DVDs off the shelf. “Yes, these would just be perfect for Shirabe-kun.” He nodded in satisfaction, a smile now on his face. “She would learn a lot from these two.”

“Now, where is that wrapping paper I bought…” Genjuuro shuffled out of his room.

* * *

 

Shirabe stood in front of the stove, stirring the contents of her patented stew. She was looking intensely into the contents of the pot but her mind wasn’t on cooking.

“What should I get Kanade-san..?” Shirabe asked, looking quite troubled. Frankly, Shirabe was intimidated at the thought of getting one half of her admired Zwei Wing a gift. She wanted it to be good, but right now she didn’t have much of an idea of what Kanade would like.

“Even though she’s a well-known idol and our friend, it feels like I don’t know Kanade-san as much as I should.” Shirabe said softly, absently continuing to stir. “The only known who would know her really well would be Tsubasa-san, maybe I should ask for help…” Shirabe was already at her wit’s end, having been thinking for the past few days but to no avail.

“I might get in trouble but… I have to ask!” Shirabe then said with determination. The faint scent of something burning then reached her nose and she yelped, going back to the present as she remembered that she was cooking something.

“Ahh!!” She quickly turned the stove off and was relieved to find that she hadn’t butchered the stew badly. “I’ll call Tsubasa-san after I finish up with this…”

* * *

 

Kanade lounged on her couch, her feet propped up on the table while munching on some Pocky. “Oh man, time passes by so fast. It’s only a couple of days left and I still haven’t thought of a gift for Miku.” Kanade talked to herself, taking a large bite out of the Pocky stick.

“It is a no-brainer that Miku’s favorite thing in the world is Hibiki but I don’t think that she’ll appreciate it if I kidnap her to give as a gift.” Kanade laughed softly, amusing herself with the thought of kidnapping Hibiki. So what else was Miku interested in?

“Huh, wait a minute. Hibiki mentioned that Miku was the one who invited her to the Zwei Wing concert where we met.” Kanade murmured thoughtfully. “So that means… A fan! She’s a fan of ours! Well, she doesn’t show it as enthusiastically as Hibiki does but that’s something to go with.”

“What would any Zwei Wing fan like?” Kanade asked herself before smirking a little. “Well, I guess that’s a pretty easy question to answer. I’ll get her something that would completely knock her socks off!”

* * *

 

Miku dodged a lot of Christmas shoppers as she headed to her destination. It was already fairly crowded and she hastened her pace, not keen on dealing with the inevitable rush of shoppers soon. Being this close to Christmas, the mall got really busy and crowded. Miku wasn’t exactly fond of crowds but the mall had was she needed.

“I hope Kirika-chan is going to like what I have in mind for her.” Miku said to herself, finally spotting the store she needed to go to. Slipping through the door, she was relieved to see that there were only a few other customers in and she set off to find the perfect materials.

When Miku found out that she got Kirika, she had a faint inkling of what she wanted to give her. Something that Kirika would certainly appreciate. One thing that stood out about Kirika was her choice of clothes. Miku had the idea to cater to that particular taste and she wanted to make it herself, something that Kirika would be able to use and that would suit her.

“I’m not that good with my hands but I’m going to do my best!” Miku told herself determinedly. She did want Kirika to enjoy her gift after all.

* * *

 

Finally, the day that the Symphogear Adaptors were waiting for had arrived. It was now the 24th, and their Christmas party was now starting.

“Why does this always happen in my house?!” Chris scowled, looking over at the festive decorations that she helped to put up with Elfnein and Aoi. There were several tables that were already full of food that Shirabe, Maria, Serena, Miku and Ogawa all helped cook.

“You all did a good job.” Genjuuro said admirably, wearing that Santa outfit from before.

“Yeah well.” Chris just shrugged, not bothering to comment on Genjuuro’s still ridiculous look. “We all worked hard I guess.” Chris turned to where everyone else minus Tsubasa was gathered in the living room.  Many were talking to each other while some were watching the others play on the huge TV.

“Tsubasa-san still isn’t here…” Elfnein was standing beside the door, looking faintly worried.

“Ah, don’t worry about it Elfnein. Tsubasa just probably got caught up somewhere.” Kanade assured from where she was holding a controller and playing with Hibiki.

“She mentioned earlier that if she was late that it’s okay to start without her.” Maria added, coming to place a comforting hand on Elfnein’s shoulder. “She’ll catch up soon, so we can start with giving our gifts.”

“Okay, Maria-san.” Elfnein nodded. “Um, everyone! It’s time for the main event of our party! The secret Santa!” At Elfnein’s decisive exclamation, everyone quieted down to some degree, with Kanade and Hibiki abandoning their game.

“I’m feeling a bit nervous dess.” Kirika commented, her foot tapping on the floor repeatedly.

“Me too.” Shirabe admitted with a soft laugh.

“So, anyone wants to go first?” Genjuuro asked, looking quite excited himself. There were a few seconds of silence as everyone looked at each other before the door suddenly slammed open.

“Wahh!!” Hibiki yelped, jumping into the air. Everyone’s attention was stolen as Tsubasa appeared, panting and holding on to a large box.

“I apologize for my tardiness!” Tsubasa yelled out, completely out of breath. She clutched the large box that she had in her arms though she seemed to be handling it carefully even with how tired she looked.

“Ah Tsubasa, you’ve finally arrived! Alright then, looks like we have our volunteer!” Genjuuro’s voice seemed to boom approvingly throughout the room.

“What? Volunteer?” Tsubasa asked, straightening up now that she managed to catch her breath.

“Since you’re already there Tsubasa-san, you can start the Secret Santa! Who is your gift for?” Elfnein explained, smiling happily.

“Ah,” Tsubasa cleared her throat, taking another deep breath before releasing it. “Since I was late, it can’t be helped that I’m the one chosen to be first.” Tsubasa said calmly, though she looked rather nervous. “My gift is for Serena.”

“Oh! I’m the first one to receive a gift.” Serena said, a soft smile on her face as she stood up and approached Tsubasa to get her gift. Tsubasa offered the box she was holding and Serena gingerly accepted it.

“Well, come on! Open it! This won’t be any fun if we don’t get to know what the gifts are!” Kanade urged.

At the urging, Serena took off the lid of the box, peering into it. For a moment, there was a rare look of utter surprise on Serena’s face before the box started to slip from her hands.

“Serena?” Maria asked in alarm and worry.

“My masterpiece!” Tsubasa uncharacteristically yelped, moving quickly to catch the box before it could fall.

“Ah! I’m sorry Tsubasa-san!” Serena snapped out of her surprise and held the box more properly with Tsubasa’s help. Upon closer inspection, Serena seemed to have tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong, Serena?” Maria asked again anxiously, wanting to go to Serena’s side.

“I’m okay, Maria-neesan.” Serena reassured her. “I was just… really happy.” Serena then smiled, a genuinely warm smile that eased Maria’s worries.

“Could I show them what you gave me, Tsubasa-san?” Serena asked Tsubasa who looked a little bashful and worried. She then gave a nod of assent.

Ogawa thoughtfully placed a small table beside Serena where she placed the box on. Carefully, she removed the content of the box and placed it on the table.

“That looks beautiful..!” Miku gasped. Everyone could only nod their agreements. On a base of finely dark polished wood was a beautifully detailed replica of a garden. There were lots and lots of flower bushes and hedges full of flowers, all of it painstakingly detailed. A white gazebo was in the middle of the garden, complete with tables and chairs seemingly made out of metal, each one also an exquisite piece of art. A delicate tea set was also on the miniature table. It looked like a perfect scene of an idyllic afternoon in such a wonderful garden.

“Isn’t that..!” Maria also teared up like Serena, her voice cracking as she placed her hand over her mouth.

“It’s our garden… Our grandma’s garden…” Serena confirmed. “How did you do this, Tsubasa-san?”

“I remembered the both of you talking about how your strongest memories of your past were the garden you spent a lot of time in with your grandmother. Maria always had the drawing you made of it on display in her room so I thought you’d like it if I made a replica of it.”

“You made this all?” Serena asked, feeling both emotional and touched.

“Yeah, it’s why I was got here so late. I’ve been working on it until earlier.” Tsubasa answered a bit sheepishly.

“Thank you so much, Tsubasa-san!” Serena said, surprising Tsubasa when she hugged her tightly. Tsubasa let out a choked noise of surprise while Kanade let out a choked sound of ‘That’s not fair..!’

Serena sincere look of gratitude on her face as she wiped away her tears and pulled away from the hug. “This really means so much to me..! I’ll cherish it forever.” Tsubasa nodded in reply. Looking quite pleased yet embarrassed as well.

“Wow, Tsubasa-san already set the bar so high…” Kirika said in awe.

“Tsubasa got more relationship points with Serena more than I did…. And I’ve been trying for three months already!” Kanade looked a bit offended, huffing.

“So, Serena-kun, it’s your turn to give your gift.” Genjuuro said as the din died down.

Serena nodded in response, taking her gift from the pile on the floor. “My gift is for Hibiki-san.”

“Yeah! It's my turn now! I wonder what it is?” Hibiki jumped up excitedly, approaching Serena and taking the gift into her arms. Unlike Tsubasa, it wasn’t in a box and Hibiki noticed that it was soft underneath the wrapping paper.

“I can open this now, right?” Hibiki asked eagerly, already poised to tear through the wrappings. With a nod from Serena, Hibiki did just that.

“Whoaa!! It’s so cute!” Hibiki squealed as a large black bird plushie was revealed. It was squat and fat, having small aqua eyes and a beak. It had a large white ribbon on its head, very similar to what Miku always wore. Hibiki drew it close to her, eyes sparkling and grinning wide.

“It reminds me of Miku!” Hibiki exclaimed.

“Now that you mention it…” Maria trailed off, everyone staring hard at the bird plushie.

“Of me?” Miku wondered.

“That’s right, Hibiki-san! I drew Miku-san as a cute bird, then I made a plushie of it.” Serena revealed with a smile.

“Wahh! It’s the best, Serena-san! I love it!” Hibiki looked positively thrilled, throwing her arms around Serena happily. “It’s the cutest thing ever!

“Even cuter than me?” A bemused Miku asked.

“Noo!! Of course not! Miku’s still the cutest!” Hibiki backpedaled, tackling Miku this time. “Don’t be mad!”

“I’m just kidding, Hibiki.” Miku laughed, patting Hibiki on the head. “I’m flattered that Serena-san made a plushie after me.”

“Because nothing else could make Hibiki-san as happy as you.” Serena quipped knowingly.

“Hehe, Serena-san knows me pretty well.” Hibiki grinned.

“Idiot, anyone with eyes could tell that.” Chris snorted, rolling her eyes.

“Well, that’s true.” Hibiki laughed sheepishly before handing Miku bird plushie to Miku. “And now it's my turn to give a gift!” Hibiki bounded over to where her gift was and picked it up. It wasn’t wrapped and instead was in a paper bag with Christmas designs.

“I’m not really good at wrapping gifts but I hope you still like it, Maria-san!” Hibiki thrust the gift towards Maria’s direction, a huge and sunny smile on her lips. Surprise flitted through Maria’s face before she returned the smile, approaching Hibiki to take her gift.

“Open it, open it!” Hibiki urged, though there was now a hint of nervousness in her face.

“Alright.” Maria carefully removed the tape that was holding the paper bag closed to reveal its contents. Maria curiously pulled out a gray pouch with something inside of it.

“Oh!” Maria emitted a small sound of surprise as she saw her name embroidered not so neatly on the pouch with pink thread. Placing the paper bag down, Maria then took out a brightly painted wooden lunch box and chopsticks. The lunch box and even the chopsticks were painted in pink with little white lilies and the cute head of cats all over it.

Maria stared down at it for a moment, her eyes wide. “It’s so cute..!” She then breathlessly exclaimed just when Hibiki was getting nervous about her silence. “This is a personalized lunch box, isn’t it? It looks so adorable!”

“Hehehe, that’s right! My mom knew someone who makes personalized chopsticks and stuff and I had it all handmade from wood! I was the one who painted it though so some may look kinda goofy…” Hibiki explained, laughing a bit sheepishly.

“You also embroidered my name here?” Maria asked, fingering the last ‘a’ on the pouch.

“Yeah! Although it doesn’t look all that good.” Hibiki scratched her cheek ruefully.

“Don’t be silly! All of it looks wonderful!” Maria argued fiercely. “It’s a really thoughtful gift, and I could see how hard you worked on it. I’ll treasure it always and make good use of it. Thank you very much, Hibiki.” There was a warm and kind smile on Maria’s face which really pleased Hibiki as she practically skipped back to Miku’s side.

“So it’s my turn now.” Maria said, her smile fading away to be replaced by a determined look as she put away Hibiki’s gift to her. To those that knew Maria, it was her look when she was putting on a brave face but was actually very nervous. She took her gift from the pile, a thin box wrapped in red and green wrapping with a white bow.

“This is for you, Ogawa-san.” Maria then turned to Ogawa who was casually leaning against the wall nearby.

“Thank you very much, Maria-san.” Ogawa said politely, a pleasant smile on his face as he received the gift.

“Impressive, Maria has gotten better at sensing Ogawa-san’s presence.” Tsubasa said, sounding impressed.

“I didn’t even notice him…” Shirabe murmured, a little unnerved at his sudden appearance.

Maria looked increasingly nervous as Ogawa neatly opened his present, looking like he didn’t even rip the paper as a plain brown box emerged. Taking the lid off, Ogawa then took out what could only be a hideous orange and blue polka dotted tie. At first, no one spoke, certainly not expecting that.

Then, Ogawa beamed all his pearly whites at Maria, looking the most pleased that they’ve all ever seen him look. “This is great, Maria-san! How did you know?” He looked very impressed as he took another tie from the box, this time a purple and yellow checkered one that would clash with anything that one was wearing. Maria’s shoulders seemed to sag in relief at the pleased look Ogawa was sporting as he checked out the half-dozen ties that Maria got him. All of which were in unique taste.

“Wait, you actually like those?” Chris couldn’t hold in her shock at that.

“Yes! I collect ties like these. All of them are a great addition to my collection.” Ogawa answered without missing a beat.

“It's just one of his eccentricities.” Tsubasa nodded knowingly.

“I’m relieved you like them.” Maria said sincerely. “I was worried that you wouldn’t.”

“Maria-kun, how did you know about Ogawa’s peculiar tastes in ties?” Genjuuro then asked, looking intrigued.

Maria looked reluctant as she realized that Genjuuro was suspecting she asked someone about it. “...I asked Tomosato-san and Fujitaka-san.” Maria revealed, now looking guilty. “I know it was supposed to be a secret but they weren’t participants so I asked.”

“Yeah, because no one even told me there was a Secret Santa going on.” Fujitaka grumbled from his seat. Aoi elbowed him in exasperation.

“Are you still going on about that?” Aoi asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I-I’m sorry, Fujitaka-san, when Tomosato-san said she was too busy to join the Secret Santa, I assumed you were similarly busy…” Elfnein apologized, looking devastated as she was on the verge of tears.

“Ah! It’s fine! Don’t cry, Elfnein!” Fujitaka yelped in alarm while Aoi looked at him with a ‘now-look-at-what-you-did’ face. “Honestly, I was really busy too so you were right.” Fujitaka patted Elfnein on the head.

“Really?” Elfnein looked up at him with big doe eyes and he vigorously nodded.

“Hmm, Maria-kun has a point I suppose, since we didn’t mention asking help from outside.” Genjuuro nodded.

“I’m thankful that they were able to help me.” Maria said, conveying her thanks to Fujitaka and Aoi.

“Well, we have been co-workers with Ogawa-san for a while now. Of course, we’d pick up a few things about each other.” Aoi winked, smiling at Maria.

“That’s certainly true.” Ogawa agreed mildly, closing lid again on his present. “Though my thanks are to you Maria-san.” Maria looked smugger and pleased now that she got thanked.

“Now, it's my turn to give my present.” Ogawa said with a smile and took out a large box wrapped in purple and blue. He then presented it to Elfnein, making the smaller girl jump up to her feet.

“For me?” Elfnein asked, eagerly smiling now as she gratefully received the present. It took Elfnein a lot longer than the others to open her present as she was determined not to rip it open. However, she just wasn’t as good with the task as Ogawa was.

“Come on, hurry up a little.” Kanade said impatiently, and she was quickly elbowed at both sides by Maria and Tsubasa.

Finally, the wrapping paper slid down to the side neatly and the box inside opened to reveal a very lovely kimono n shades of violet and blue, with designs of wisteria flowers. “A kimono!” Elfnein gasped in delight, looking like she was torn between wanting to wear it already and making sure not to crease or get it dirty.

“Since it’s the New Year soon, I’m sure that all of you would be planning a shrine visit with Elfnein.” Ogawa said, smiling knowingly all the while. “A new kimono would be perfect for then, don’t you think so?”

“As expected from Ogawa-san! He’s such a great ninja!” Kirika said in awe, impressed.

“I don’t think that has anything to do with him being a ninja…” Chris muttered lowly.

“Thank you, Ogawa-san! Just you wait, I’m definitely going to wear this on New Year’s!” Elfnein exclaimed, looking quite fired up.

“That’s the spirit Elfnein-kun!” Genjuuro encouraged, chuckling. “And now it’s your turn.”

“Yes!” Elfnein looked positively cheerful as she took her present from the pile. It seemed to be a lumpy looking gift as it wasn’t in a box and just wrapped with red and gold. “Chris-san! This is for you.” She then extended it towards Chris’ direction.

“Heh, so it’s mine this time.” Chris lightened up quite a bit, a half-smile tugging at her lips as she received the gift with an almost lazy gait. However, she quickly tore through the wrapping paper, belying her excitement at the gift. Chris’ face turned to utter shock though when a familiar red hooded costume was revealed.

“That looks familiar.” Serena commented, an amused smile quirking at her lips. Kanade already began to giggle before it became full-blown laughter when Chris exploded.

“What the hell is this?!” Chris yelled out in shock and embarrassment. The look of happiness on Elfnein’s face was instantly erased and replaced with a worried look.

“Don’t you recognize it Chris-san? It’s-” Elfnein began but she was cut off by Chris.

“I know what it is!” Chris looked thoroughly flustered. “My question is why this??”

“Ah, I monitored your spending habits lately, and I was able to conclude that you were quite fond of Utazukin. As you bought many of the merchandise, I thought that you would like something related to it so I made you Utazukin’s costume. It seemed to be something that’s popular with the fanbase.” Elfnein explained lengthily, her brows furrowed a little.

“How did you even get-” Chris abruptly stopped, realizing the answer already. “Geez, at least ask for the other’s permission before you start snooping around like this! There’s no way that I’m gonna wear this!” Chris said loudly.

“Ah, I’m sorry Chris-san. I just wanted to give you the best gift that I could…” Elfnein looked downtrodden now and Chris felt the sting in her heart. “You don’t even like it…”

Chris’ anger deflated at the look on Elfnein’s face and she blustered. “I-It’s not that I don’t like it..! Just… I’m not going to wear it here.”

“So you mean you like it?” Elfnein perked up a little, looking hopeful now.

“W-well, yeah. It looks great and you made it yourself didn’t you?” Chris was actually understating it a little. The costume really was done amazingly well. “So I guess, thanks a lot.”

“You’re welcome, Chris-san!” Elfnein looked overjoyed at that.

“You better wear it to show your appreciation!” Kanade hollered and Chris shot her a withering glare before carefully folding the costume and stowing it to the side.

“It’s my turn to give a gift now.” Chris declared but unlike all those who came before her, she didn’t pick up her gift from the pile.

“Hey old man, your gift is over there.” Chris addressed Genjuuro, pointing to a large box at the side of the room. It was a box bigger than any of the other gifts in the room.

“Oh? Well, let’s see what you got me then.” Genjuuro said, approaching the said box and opening it. “Oho. No wonder you don’t even want to move it.” Genjuuro grinned knowingly, hidden underneath the beard he has before he pulled out a dumbbell from the box.

“A dumbbell?” Hibiki blinked.

“A whole set of them.” Genjuuro confirmed. “I’m kind of surprised that’s what you picked.”

“Well, you’re a training nut. Besides, you only have like two of these in your dojo or whatever. Getting a complete set is better.” Chris shrugged, trying to sound cool and detached.

“Hahaha! Thank you, Chris-kun! I appreciate it!” Genjuuro’s laughter was booming again and he clapped Chris on the shoulder. She noticeably buckled a bit under the weight but she just snorted and shrugged it off, giving priority to hide her blushing face.

“Now, as for me!” Genjuuro then took out a thin package from his coat. “Shirabe-kun, This is for you!”

Shirabe blinked in surprise at him for a moment before she scrambled to get up. “Thank you very much.” Shirabe bowed her head a little as she received the gift.

“Don’t be shy and open it!” Genjuuro encouraged and Shirabe did just that, tearing through the silver and blue wrapping to reveal two DVD cases.

“A movie?” Shirabe tilted her head. “The Golden Pair?” She managed to read the English letters of the title. Underneath the title were two people, a young man and a young woman posing in ice skates. The other DVD had a serious looking man holding a yo-yo underneath a title that simply said ‘Black’.

“These are action movies to help your training.” Genjuuro explained with a knowing nod. “I’m sure you would learn a lot from these!”

Shirabe didn’t look all that impressed honestly, looking mostly a bit disappointed as she tried to hide it. “Thank you, commander.”

“Hmm, not looking too impressed huh? Why don’t you take a look at one?” Genjuuro looked undeterred. Shirabe looked at Chris for permission who gave her a nod before she popped it into the DVD player.

Shirabe’s disappointed look fell away as the first scene came alive. The pair of skaters were surrounded by a large group in what seemed to be a frozen lake. They then proceeded to fight their enemies with their skating. It was flashy and amazing and Shirabe had her mouth open in awe.

“Well, do you still think it’s boring?” Genjuuro asked smugly and Shirabe hastily shook her head.

“It looks amazing! I can’t wait to watch more.” Shirabe enthused, a glint in her eyes. “Thank you very much!”

“Don’t mention it.” Genjuuro smiled in smug satisfaction. “Just don’t forget it's your turn to give a gift.”

With that, Shirabe mournfully turned the player off and took her gift wrapped in shiny orange from the now much smaller pile. This time, she looked both nervous and flustered. “My gift is for Kanade-san…”

“Ha! Finally! I’m pretty excited to know what you got me.” Kanade leapt to her feet, eagerly accepting the wrapped box from Shirabe. Tearing the wrapping away, a white box was revealed. Taking the lid off, Kanade let out a slow whistle of appreciation.

“I can’t believe it! How did you know?” Kanade exclaimed, a broad grin on her face as she held up a stylish and revealing lacy slip. “I love these!”

“Oh, um…” Shirabe fidgeted, a bright red blush appearing on her cheeks.

“An adult taste…” Kirika said in awe.

“W-what!?” Maria suddenly exploded, looking even more flustered than Shirabe did. “How did you even… Who told you to buy something like that?

Beside her, Tsubasa was slowly inching away, looking quite fearful as the mama cat awoke. She wasn’t successful in escaping when Maria realized that there’s only one person close enough to Kanade that would know she collected intimate apparel.

“It was you wasn’t it?” Maria asked, narrowing her eyes at Tsubasa. “How could you? Shirabe’s still so young!”

“Maria, I’m not that young.” Shirabe protested, a little miffed at what Maria was saying. Maria just glowered at Tsubasa who shrank away, looking guilty.

“It wasn’t Tsubasa-san’s fault, I forced her to tell me.” Shirabe then admitted, placing a hand on Maria’s shoulder so she would look at her. “I didn’t know what to give Kanade-san cause it felt like she was still a stranger to me, but I wanted to give her something she’d love.”

“Ahh, well I guess that’s true. I don’t talk about myself much, huh?” Kanade scratched her head sheepishly. “So you came to Tsubasa, right?”

“Yeah. She didn’t want to tell me at first, since we weren’t supposed to tell anyone.”

“What did she do to convince you?” Chris asked Tsubasa who sighed.

“She kept on calling me senpai.” Tsubasa muttered, looking defeated. “I couldn’t let my kouhai down and I accompanied her to buy it.”

Surprisingly, Chris didn’t scold her. She just sighed and crossed her arms. “We’re suckers.” Tsubasa glumly nodded.

“Ah well, all’s well that ends well right?” Kanade clapped her hands, getting the attention of everyone. “Shirabe got her first taste of the adult world and I got an awesome gift! Thanks a lot, Shirabe! I’ll definitely wear it!”

“Kanade..!” Maria exclaimed in all exasperation but Kanade just fluttered her eyelashes at her unapologetically. Maria could only sigh in defeat while Shirabe hugged her in apology.

“With that over and no more protests from Maria, it's time for Miku to get her present!” Kanade swiped one of the last three gifts in the pile, a box wrapped in green. “Come on over here and claim it!”

Miku obediently stood up to do just that, taking the gift in her arms. “Thank you so much, Kanade-san!”

“You haven’t even opened it yet, come on!” Kanade urged and Miku did as she was told.

“This is..!” Miku looked delightfully shocked as she pulled out a smaller box. Through the transparent window, you could see a cute, chibi sized Kanade winking, wearing a familiar costume.

“Ahh!! A figure!” Hibiki exclaimed.

“That’s right! A still unreleased figure based on me!” Kanade nodded, pleased as punch.

“There’s one based on Tsubasa-san too!” Miku looked positively thrilled, taking out another box with a chibi Tsubasa smiling.

“Dess!! I want those too…” Kirika exclaimed enviously.

“Kanade! How did you get those?” Tsubasa looked embarrassed. “I thought we turned those down!”

“Oh you know, connections. Just asking the manufacturers gave me these. They still even have those dakis and I have them with me.” Kanade answered.

“A Tsubasa daki..?” Maria asked lowly, a twinkle of want in her eyes.

“Oh come on Maria, you already have the real thing. Why would you still want a daki?” Kanade asked, looking amused while Maria sputtered.

“Kanade! That’s not something you’re supposed to reveal!” Tsubasa looked fiercely embarrassed, her face red. Kanade just laughed, waving her hand dismissively.

“Thank you very much, Kanade-san! I’ve always been a fan of your music, I’ll cherish them!” Miku said thankfully, holding the boxes close.

“Yeah! Since it’s Miku’s I can get to see them displayed at home!” Hibiki pumped her fist in the air.

“I wish we had those too…” Shirabe said mournfully while Kirika nodded in agreement.

“Well, we’ll see if we can pull any more strings. Right, Tsubasa?” Kanade clapped Tsubasa’s back. Tsubasa could only sigh and shake her head.

“Let’s continue on with the gift giving everyone.” Serena reminded them gently as Shirabe, Kirika and Hibiki were busy ogling the Zwei Wing figures.

“Oh, yes! My gift is for Kirika-chan.” Miku took the box wrapped in green with reindeer print, handing it to Kirika who was just nearby.

“DESS! Finally for me!” Kirika cheered, eagerly tearing through the wrappings to reveal a box. “What could it be?” She hummed, taking the cover off to reveal a pair of green and black sneakers. However, it wasn’t just any kind of sneakers. It was unmistakably customized to resemble Kirika’s shoes when she’s clad in her Symphogear, with the scythe-like designs.

“Ahhh!! Miku-san, these look great! Thank you sooo much!” Kirika squealed, trying them on as quickly as she could. “They’re the perfect fit, DESS!” Kirika walked around with them to go the mirror and admire her reflection. The shoes just seemed to blend right in Kirika’s outfit, suiting her well.

“I’m so glad! I had a hard time doing the customization but its worth it to see you so happy.” Miku admitted in relief, a smile on her face.

“They really suit you, Kiri-chan.” Shirabe complimented and Kirika’s grin seemed to split her face in half as she twirled around.

“I really love it! I don’t even want to take them off!” Kirika said, though even as she said that she had to reluctantly take them off as she was inside the house.

“So, we’re finally at the last one.” Genjuuro said, and all eyes were on Tsubasa as she was the last one without a gift.

“Yeah, yeah! Tsubasa-san, here’s your gift!” Kirika got the last gift in the pile, a large box with a blue ribbon. Tsubasa graciously accepted it, not needing to tear through paper as the box was designed to look like it was wrapped but all she needed to do was to pop the lid off.

Tsubasa was silent while Kirika grew increasingly nervous and fidgety. “Tsubasa-san?” Kirika called out to her nervously.

“Ah, right.” Tsubasa looked faintly embarrassed as she took out the contents of the box, a new blue and white helmet and a black leather jacket for riding a bike. It wasn’t just that though, as the helmet was customized with real-looking wings on its sides, while a white wing was emblazoned at the back of the leather jacket.

“My! That helmet reminds me of a superhero’s.” Serena commented, looking intrigued and surprised.

“And that jacket would make you look like one of those cool gang bikers in movies!” Kanade added.

“You think I’d look cool..?” Tsubasa asked shyly. “These are all so great and I thought that they wouldn’t suit me…”

“That’s not true, Tsubasa-san! I had these customized for you and you’d definitely look cool in anything!” Kirika protested. “You’re always on your bike and a lot of people online love how cool you look, so I thought to give you a gift to make you look even cooler!” Kirika looked flustered yet also determined. “If it's come to this then..!”

Tsubasa and everyone else blinked when Kirika disappeared into a side room before emerging again wearing a similar black leather jacket to Tsubasa. “I even had this made too so I could look as cool as you!” Kirika looked horribly embarrassed but she looked at Tsubasa in determination.

“You’re right, Akatsuki.” Tsubasa then slowly smiled, pulling on the leather jacket so she could match with Kirika. “Thank you very much, I’ll gladly wear this when I’m going riding.”

“Yay! Tsubasa-senpai and I are wearing matching jackets!” She gave them all a V for victory sign and Shirabe and Maria were of course there to take her picture. “Pose with me too!” She asked of Tsubasa and she did.

“Put on your new helmet, Tsubasa-san!” Hibiki requested, taking out her phone too.

And with that, things evolved to everyone showing off their gifts and taking pictures. Chris hit anyone trying to get her inside her Utazukin costume. Kirika zoomed everywhere on her new shoes. Elfnein was quite sad she couldn’t put on her new kimono yet. Genjuuro easily carried his new.dumbbell set to the side so it won’t be in anyone’s way as the party continued. Serena was quite busy taking pictures of the model garden. Maria was doing the same to her new lunchbox set, noting all the designs that Hibiki put on it. Hibiki was eating again, her plush Miku on her lap while the real Miku was trying out different poses on the Zwei Wing figures she had. Ogawa was chatting amiably with Fujitaka and Aoi, proudly having switched his tie with the most atrocious one from his new collection. Shirabe had the ‘Golden Pair’ movie playing and was watching it, mesmerized. Kanade was pondering if she should try on her new slip to make a splash while Tsubasa tried to talk some sense into her.

All in all, it was a wonderful party and a wonderful night on this Christmas Eve. Laughter and talking echoed through the night as everyone enjoyed themselves and their gifts.

“A Merry Christmas to everyone!” Genjuuro shouted as soon as midnight came, and the greetings echoed throughout the rooms and through the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: this is my Symphogear Secret Santa gift for Parme-tan over at twitter/tumblr! This is a collaboration between me and Xesphanite. Belated Merry Christmas everyone!


End file.
